Chapter 430： Preparation one (1/2)
In a barracks on the outskirts of Vienna, the Bavarian Guards who accompanied the prince to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and two other imperial cavalry companies were stationed. The role of this force is not only to support the prince. At the same time, a considerable number of them will carry weapons and ammunition as the advance force sent to Libya from Bavaria. mobilization! They will face a European power this time. Taking into account the difficulty of supply, their preparations must be quite meticulous!
Although the vehicles brought this time did not have heavy weapons such as towed artillery, they also carried a large amount of ammunition. At the same time, because the military systems of Bavaria and Austria have been docked to a certain extent, some weapons can use Austrian ammunition and accessories. Tz was indifferent to this war, but after the prince expressed his willingness to buy at the price, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was also willing to provide ammunition for this expeditionary army.
”Together with the cavalry, we have a total of 1,500 people in the first batch. Considering the difficulty of ammunition supply, we carry a small number of 75MM artillery, only 4, and the main weapons are machine guns and mortars. We also have spare machine guns. There are 120 mortars, 20 60MM mortars, 20 82MM mortars, and 12 120MM mortars.” When Prince Ruprecht came to check the preparations, Lieutenant Colonel Carl would carry weapons. The list is reported.
Of course, the strength of a regiment of one's own cannot use so many weapons. In fact, at the beginning of the First World War, a German division did not have 120 machine guns. It is said that the number of machine guns concentrated by the German army will not exceed 2000 when the entire western front broke out. A large part of these weapons are prepared for part of the Turkish army.
”What about the related equipment?” the prince asked. According to the Italian-Turkish war in history, the two sides fought directly for more than a year. It might be difficult to carry so many machine guns and mortars with the ammunition delivered before the war, so this time Lieutenant Colonel Karl Bring a suggested bullet reloading line, simple gun repair equipment and spare parts.
Why bring so many mortars? The reason is simple, the production of shells is simple, cheap pig iron can be made into shells, and the shrapnel produced after the explosion is no worse than copper shells. If there is no smokeless powder, black powder can also be used as a propellant. The firing range is shorter, just change the gun watch. Make do with it.
”According to your ideas, we have designed two simple carriages to transport machine guns and mortars, and related orders have been sent out. They will be produced in Egypt under the name of ordinary carriages, and then passed Transported by special channel.” Lieutenant Colonel Karl said.
In fact, this kind of carriage is not like an ordinary four-wheeled carriage. It is actually composed of two parts, a front carriage loaded with ammunition and maintenance tools, and a rear carriage equipped with a machine gun. The latter is linked The equipment is on the front car.
A new MG98 machine gun is fixed on the rear car. The machine gun is almost integrated with the car body through the gun frame. Of course, it can also be removed when necessary and can be attached to an ordinary tripod.
”In the absence of artillery, this rear car is a reliable point of fire.” Lieutenant Colonel Karl stepped forward and said. He opened a box on the right side of the machine gun and pulled out a bullet chain from it. ”The ammunition box on the right side of the car body can hold at least 2,000 rounds of ammunition.
”On the left is the cooling water tank. We used a pipe to directly connect to the cooling water bucket of the machine gun. There are about 50 kg of water in it.” 98 and the historical Germans used a large number of MG08 machine guns in the 1st war, using the same size cooling tube. 4L of water is required when it is full.
The machine gun not only consumes a lot of ammunition, but also consumes a lot of coolant. The MG98 machine gun on this plane is an imitation of the British Vickers machine gun. While ensuring a lighter weight, it also wastes water. The problem is inherited.